You acted in bad faith – Aggrieved customers of Gold Coast Fund demand answers from Nduom

The aggrieved customers of Gold Coast Fund Management, now known as Black Shield Limited, have strongly criticized the founder of Groupe Nduom, Dr. Papa Kwesi Nduom, accusing him of bad faith and deception.

For the past six years, these customers have staged a series of protests, urging the government to release their locked investments from the financial sector cleanup exercise. They allege that Dr. Nduom continues to enrich himself with over GH¢3.3 billion from the cleanup exercise while they remain impoverished.

Their frustrations stem from Dr. Nduom's recent demands for the government to settle its debt of GH¢1.8 billion, borrowed from his bank for infrastructure projects in 2018, which has now accrued interest to GH¢7.1 billion.

Dr. Nduom claimed that if even one-third of this debt had been paid earlier, there wouldn't be a problem with Gold Coast or Black Shield.

However, Charles Nyame, the convener of the aggrieved customers, dismissed Dr. Nduom's claims as unfounded and urged the public not to sympathize with him.

Speaking at a press conference, he described Dr. Nduom's statements as arrogant, shameless, and cruel, asserting that Dr. Nduom has benefited the most from the financial sector cleanup exercise.

Mr. Nyame pointed out the discrepancy between the government's validated claims by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of GH¢5.1 billion and the GH¢1.8 billion debt to Nduom, accusing Dr. Nduom of having control over the GH¢3.3 billion difference.

The group demands that Dr. Nduom provide clear answers about the use and interest calculations of their investments.

The customers have given Dr. Nduom a two-week ultimatum, from June 17th to July 1st, 2024, to address their concerns, including clarifying the actual amount loaned to the government and explaining where the remaining funds were invested.

They also seek the inclusion of a 13-month interest gap that was omitted in the SEC's validation calculation. Should Dr. Nduom fail to meet their demands, the group has threatened to escalate their protests.